Checkout Lane: Winter blues? Go fish

As winter drones on, warm climates and tropical getaways are only a daydream away.

Many people, said Steve Richmond, owner of Lovely Pets aquarium store in Quincy, Mass., turn to tropical fish tanks as a way to break the doldrums. Richmond said winter is by far his busiest season as people look for new ways to be entertained indoors.

While pet fish can range from $20 for a betta fish in a bowl to thousands of dollars for a complex multi-organism underwater ecosystem, the choice generally comes down to freshwater or saltwater.

Beginners might be better off with a freshwater tank, said Lissa Smith of Kingston Pet. She said saltwater tanks cost more and need more maintenance than freshwater tanks.

“But then there's also more variety of fish and more beauty with the corals and sea urchins,” Smith said of saltwater tanks.

Freshwater tanks require less effort, Richmond said, because the fish are more adaptable to less hospitable conditions.

“Will all the different things that affect rivers and streams, they can handle a much more diverse range of water quality,” Richmond said.

Once you've decided on a tank, it is important to carefully select your fish. Perhaps most important, Smith said, is making sure your fish won't attack one another.

“You can get a community of fish that all get along together if you stick to around the same size fish,” Smith said. “If you want a tank with aggressive fish, make sure they are all equally aggressive or at least equal in size.”

And as far as determining how many fish can fit in your tank, Richmond said it all depends on how clean you keep it. The cleaner the tank, the more fish can live there, he said.

Make sure you do your research and are in it for the long haul, Richmond said. While fish are relatively easy to keep, they do require attention.

“I try to make sure somebody isn't just doing an impulse buy,” he said. “They are living things and people want to make sure they're going to put in the time and commit to having the hobby.”

Fishy business

Here's what you'll need to make your fish feel at home:

Tank: Tanks range in price from about $10 for a 10-gallon tank to about $900 for a 220-gallon tank. A typical large tank, 55-gallons, goes for about $100.

Filter: Filters range in price from $20 to $25 for a 10-gallon tank to about $70 for a 55-gallon tank.

Heater: Heaters range in price from $10 to $30 for a 10-gallon tank to about $40 for a 55-gallon.

Air pump: Air pumps range in price from $13 to $15 for a 10-gallon tank to about $30 for a 55- gallon.

Gravel: Five-pound bags of gravel go for about $4 each. Your tank needs about one 1 pound of gravel for every gallon of water.